People have been “surprised by some of the speed at which agriculture is starting to reduce emissions,” the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Transport, Eamon Ryan has stated.
Minister Ryan told the Dáil that “a drop of some 30% in fertiliser use over the past two years” was “never modelled or expected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) but it has actually happened”.
However, the minister also warned that “we need to go further than that” as he outlined that transport and agriculture are the two sectors where Ireland faces “the greatest challenges” when it comes to reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
“The Climate Action Plan 2024 outlines a range of measures across key sectors to drive emissions reductions.
“In agriculture, key measures include reducing chemical nitrogen use, improving animal breeding for lower methane emissions and diversifying land use,” Minister Ryan added.
But he said the EPA’s current projections suggest that there will need to be “an acceleration in implementation” of the measures if Ireland is to achieve its targetted 51% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030.
LULUCF
Minister Ryan highlighted to the Dáil that the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector plays a crucial role in Ireland’s climate strategy, but it also “presents unique challenges”.
“Due to significant fluctuations in the baseline emissions and ongoing inventory refinements, the Climate Action Plan 2024 proposes a new approach for this sector.
“This includes setting ambitious activity targets, such as increasing afforestation rates to 8,000ha per year by 2030 and aligning with EU LULUCF regulations.
“This approach aims to provide a more stable framework for emissions reduction in this complex sector,” he added.
But overall according to the outgoing leader of the Green Party, “agriculture will have to go further and do more”.
Ryan
The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Transport also stressed that for some of the policy measures the government is planning there needs to be “back-up, financial commitment”.
“Anaerobic digestion is one example of an area that was not easy to model or expect to deliver, but we will deliver it.
“It is one of the ways people can actually diversify incomes in agriculture,” Minister Ryan added.